History of Football
After a number of English teams
started hiring Scottish players, the debate over football's amateur status was inflamed
and resulted in a move to professionalism in 1885. Initially instituted with a wage
limit, this was a massive boon for the northern, predominantly working-class clubs, as
opposed to the `gentleman' dominated south. The impact on results for the former was
overwhelmingly positive, with the last amateur team to win the FA Cup being the Old
Etonians in 1882. Although the wage cap was only abolished in 1959, the foundations
of modern-day professional club and international football in Britain had been
established.
Football as the world sport
The popularity of football on the continent was well established by the 19th century,
with the first club being Switzerland's Lausanne Football and Cricket Club,
established in 1860. However, the actual development of the sport came much later.
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